Stripe does not offer opportunities for retail investors to invest in the company, nor does it offer equity investments or debt instruments (such as bonds) through third-party brokers or other agents, nor are the majority of Stripe shareholders permitted to transfer their shares without Stripe’s consent. As such, any offer to invest in Stripe that does not come from or through Stripe is very likely a scam.
There is a long history of bad actors attempting to scam retail investors by offering fake and fraudulent opportunities to invest in prominent private technology companies. We encourage anyone who receives outreach from third parties offering them opportunities to invest in “pre-IPO Stripe shares,” “Stripe shares,” “Stripe stock,” or “Stripe equity” to exercise caution. If you believe you were the target of such outreach, consider contacting your local law enforcement, securities regulator, or if in the US, the SEC to report the matter. You can read more about investment scams like these on the SEC and FINRA investor alerts page.
We sometimes become aware of individuals or companies offering fraudulent investment opportunities in Stripe. Some that have come to our attention have used the following names:
To be clear, we can not speak to the legitimacy of every person or company using these names, and are not saying that every firm using these names is fraudulent. All we know is that we have become aware of fraudulent schemes being undertaken using these names. Also, this is not an exhaustive list and there may be others out there fraudulently presenting themselves as sellers of Stripe stock. Therefore, please use caution, do not assume anything, and conduct your own due diligence if anyone approaches you purporting to be a seller of Stripe stock.
You can reach out to the Stripe legal team at legal-corporate-confidential@stripe.com to notify us of any such outreach and with any questions.